This week is my 8-year-old daughter is taking her first improv camp. I was more excited than she was about it, even though her 20-something-year-old counselor didn’t know that I am “improv” famous when I dropped her off the first day. I was first exposed to improv when I was 18 years old, so to see my daughter […]
My approach to improv keeps changing. That’s a good thing. When I was younger, I wanted to try to do improv “right.” I wanted to follow all of the rules that my teachers taught me, and when I became the teacher, I wanted my students to “get it” as well. But today, I realize that […]
My daughter Betsy is having a hard time making friends in Kindergarten. At recess on the playground, she gets scared and shuts down, and instead of talking to the other kids, she just follows them around like a lost puppy. What happens is they either ignore her completely or they get annoyed. As a dad, my heart breaks for […]
Jimmy Carrane, one of the leading improv teachers in the United States, is pleased to announce that he will be expanding his online improv class offerings this year. Beginning this February, Carrane will now be offering two sections of his Art of Slow Comedy comedy classes — one on Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. Central and […]
Have you ever thought about taking an improv class or workshop but you weren’t really sure if it was for you? More and more people are taking improv these days for a whole bunch of reasons other than getting on Saturday Night Live. Improv is about more than being silly. In fact, the principles you […]
Whether you work in a creative field or not, we all have a human need to be creative on a regular basis, for our hearts and our souls. When we find ways to express our creativity, we are lighter, things don't bother us as much, we are easier to be around, we are more fulfilled, and […]
Okay, the year is only two weeks old, and I am sure some of you have already blown off your New Year's resolutions by now. But if one of your resolutions this year was to have more fun, it’s not too late to start doing that. To help you out, I’ve come up with five […]
Improv is considered a young person’s game. Improv classes at iO and Second City are often overrun with 20-somethings just starting out in life trying to make it big in comedy someday. But what if you are over 35 and you’ve just gotten into improv? You know you are never going to audition for SNL […]
As I mentioned last week, if you are improvising today, you're probably doing it online -- on Zoom. And what I am finding is that slowing down your improv works especially well on Zoom. Because improvising on Zoom is more like watching a film or TV show than a theater performance, gives you the opportunity […]
This blog post originally had a different title, which I have changed. Please see my additional blog post where I clarify some of the points made here. I believe in comedy we always have an opportunity to heal others. We may heal the audience, people in our group, or more importantly, ourselves. Certainly, making people […]